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| Friday,
April 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Hurriyat
wants preferential treatment? 1 militant
killed, 3 BSF men hurt 750 crore
plan to provide potable water J&K
seeks Rs 2000 cr Plan outlay |
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crore project for IT education Jammu, April 12 As per studies conducted at the national level 22 lakh computers and information technology professionals will be required by 2008. It is expected that the total size of the IT industry in India will be over $ 100 billion within six to seven years and it will become the single largest contributors to the GDP of the country. For Jammu and Kashmir, too, the sector will provide a lot of opportunities to graduates, according to the Director Technical Education, here. 
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Hurriyat wants preferential treatment? Jammu, April 12 Inside reports said several APHC leaders were not prepared to sit with the government negotiator in the presence of other political leaders and trade unionists, especially those heading the groups of renegade militants. A senior APHC leader told TNS that they had not received any invitation for talks and the government had not explained the agenda of discussions. He gave a clear impression about the APHC’s intentions of receiving preferential treatment from the government. “As far as the current situation is concerned, we are more important than the others,” he said adding that the government did not seem to be serious on the matter. It is in this context that senior APHC leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, recently described the desire of the government to hold talks with separatists as a “fraud”. Even the moderate APHC leader, Mr Abdul Gani Lone, has started feeling disillusioned with the government. In Jammu, he had stated that the APHC had not yet taken any stand on the matter and the Executive Committee would meet and decide whether to accept the government’s offer for talks or not. He said the opinion expressed by the Chairman APHC, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, was his “personal view.” Professor Bhat had said that the APHC’s stand was clear that it would not participate in the talks unless the Hurriyat team was allowed to visit Pakistan. Notwithstanding the fact that the APHC derives strength from the support of Pakistani agencies and some militant groups, its senior leaders have been wavering in their stand on the government’s proposal for opening a dialogue. Inside reports said that after the United Jehad Council, a group of 14 militant organisations in Pakistan, and other Pakistani agencies rejected talks between the APHC and the Government of India, some of the moderates, including Maulvi Umar Farooq, started taking a tough stand by imposing conditions for participation in the talks. Maulvi Umar Farooq too has said that the APHC may not accept the invitation for talks if the Hurriyat team was not first allowed to visit Pakistan. Earlier, the Maulvi had stated that if the parleys between the APHC and the Government of India took off on a positive note, Pakistan could be involved in the talks at a later stage. This clearly indicated that he was for direct talks with the Government of India. He, has now, reversed his stand. Informed sources said that the change in the attitude of some moderates in the APHC has been the outcome of pressure mounted by Pakistani agencies. These agencies want that India should resume direct talks with Pakistan. Possibly some APHC leaders do not want to annoy the agencies across the border at this stage and that is the reason for Mr Abdul Gani Lone to say that the Government of India has opened pandora’s box by making a vague offer for talks. Knowledgeable circles said that the APHC Chairman, Prof Bhat, had airdashed to Delhi to have a session with the Pakistan High Commissioner and other officials to receive directions before the Executive Committee of the APHC met to discuss its stand on the offer for talks with the government mediator, Mr K.C. Pant. These circles said that Professor Bhat did not get a clear signal for starting talks with the Government of India and he was advised to stick on the visit of APHC team to Pakistan and involvement of Islamabad in the talks, though that may be at later stage. The Hurriyat Chief, reports said, also received some guidelines as to what approach he should adopt even if the situation demanded participation in the talks. In fact, Islamabad is trying to use the APHC to plead the case of Pakistan. It depends on the Executive Committee members to decide whether they would act on their own keeping in view the interests of the people of Kashmir or act as a stooge of Islamabad. The choice is not easy for the APHC. In the context of the fluid political and security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, where the militants have started enjoying the upper hand after the enforcement of the ceasefire, the APHC leaders may not be in a position to annoy Islamabad, which would mean attracting the wrath of the militants. |
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1 militant killed,
3 BSF men hurt Srinagar, April 12 The encounter broke out when BSF troops, led by Second-in-Command
O.P. Hada, raided a house at Warpora village following a tip-off about the presence of militants there, he said. The spokesman said the militants opened heavy fire and hurled grenades on noticing the approaching search parties, which retaliated. In the ensuing gunfight, Hizbul militant Sajad Ahmad Bhat was killed and the house completely damaged. BSF officer
Hada, Inspector I.M. Khan and Head Constable Lal were injured during the fight and admitted to hospital, where Khan was listed “critical”, he said. Some arms and
ammunition were seized from the militant, he said adding that a search was on to nab his other accomplices. Official sources said another militant who was also hiding in the house, escaped.
PTI |
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750 crore plan to provide potable water Jammu, April 12 Funded by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, the ARWS programme is being implemented in the state since 1976-77. Under the programme, 11,184 habitations were to be provided with potable water. Out of these 5,110 have been fully covered, 3,726 partially covered and 2,348 not covered yet. In order to cover the not covered and partially covered habitations, the government has submitted a five year action plan, beginning 1999-2000, to the Centre. As per the plan, all habitations will be provided with potable water within five years. During the year 2000-01, the department completed 177 schemes under the ARWS programme for which the Centre released Rs 90.46 crore. Investment in the PHE sector has, despite financial constraints, recorded a substantial growth of 60 per cent during the outgoing financial year 2000-01. The department has made an investment of Rs 206 crore in the infrastructural development of the PHE sector during the year 2000-01, against Rs 129 crore made during 1999-2000. The water supply to the cities of Jammu and Srinagar has augmented with the completion of several new scheme during the past financial year. With the addition of 6.5 MGD during the year 2000-01, the total availability of water in Srinagar has risen to 51 MGDS against the demand of 65 MGD. The additional water supply was made available to the city with the commissioning of Nishat filtration plant, Shitlee filtration plant and nine tubewells. The other water supply programmes presently under implementation in the state are the Minimum Needs Programme (MNP), Pilot Study Project (PSP) and Urban Water Supply Programme (UWSP). |
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J&K seeks Rs 2000 cr Plan outlay Jammu, April 12 The Chief Secretary, Mr Ashok Jaitly, projected the state’s annual plan outlay at the opening session of the two-day meeting between senior state officers and a seven-member team of the Planning Commission led by the Principal Adviser, State Plans, Mr P.K. Mohantry, here. Mr Jaitly said the annual Plan should be finalised at the earliest so that the development works are executed on schedule. Giving a brief resume of efforts to improve the fiscal situation in the state, the Chief Secretary said the state government had done its best for resource mobilisation and the performance of Jammu and Kashmir is best at least among the special category states. He said tax revenue and power tariff collection had increased considerably in recent years. He added that metering and power tariff collection had improved. He called upon the Planning Commission to take up the matter with the Union Finance Ministry. The annual Plan allocation has remained static for the past three years and now liberal financial allocations should be made to the state for speeding up development. The Chief Secretary said the state was confronted with a drought situation, which has affected the rabi crop. As a result the state was facing irrigation and drinking water scarcity, he added, and said the government had formulated a drought action plan, which was being sent to the Centre. Mr Mohanty assured that the Planning Commission wanted to finalise the current financial year’s annual Plans of Jammu and Kashmir and other state at the earliest. |
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64 crore project for IT education Jammu, April 12 The Jammu and Kashmir Government has launched a massive action plan for revamping the technical education in the state to meet the growing demand for such professionals, he said. A Rs 64.75 crore project has been approved to providing quality improvement in the existing polytechnics with the World Bank assistance. Computer and IT-related courses have been approved in all government polytechnics and engineering colleges. A diploma in information technology has already been introduced by four institutes of Kite Polytechnic, Mastro Polytechnic, Srinagar and National Institute of Technology and Mahant Bachitar Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu having 60 seats each. |
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